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In the 2018 primaries so far, 20 Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds have won contests. Journalist Patrick Martin was the first to identify this trend, and returns with updated information.Martin’s 3-part series released in March, 2018 have been published in a pamphlet called The CIA Democrats. Martin’s most recent post is here.
One high profile spy-turned-candidate is Abigail Spanberger, who worked undercover for the CIA for about 9 years. We note that she shares more of her covert history than “Bloody Gina” Haspel, who was able to maintain secrecy of most of her CIA covert history during the confirmation process.
Martin thumbnails the picture: there are, so far, 20 Democratic House candidates with military or intel backgrounds who have won the primary, and have a chance of winning in November. If the Dems garner the 23 seats they need to regain control of the House, their majority will likely be based on this group of candidates.
Near the end of our conversation, Martin lists the 20 former soldiers and spies who are running as Democrats this year.